Trump Plans to Slap Stiff Tariffs and Investment Restrictions on China<br />Last August, Mr. Trump ordered an investigation into four types of Chinese trade practices, including requiring companies to share trade secrets to<br />gain access to the Chinese market, forcing them to license their technology in China at below-market rates and cyberintrusions to steal technology.<br />The measures will be targeted at imported Chinese goods in as many as 100 categories — hitting everything from shoes<br />and clothing to consumer electronics — and will impose restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States, people briefed on the measures said.<br />Experts worry that the United States’ actions could ignite a trade war, noting<br />that Chinese economic officials have a keen understanding of the American system and are good at designing targeted retaliatory measures against American agricultural products and other exports.<br />Last year, Mr. Trump held off imposing tough trade measures against China because, he said, Mr. Xi was cooperating in<br />his campaign to pressure the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, over his nuclear and ballistic missile programs.<br />The effect of the China tariffs would be larger and more concentrated than the steel<br />and aluminum measures and would have a bigger impact on United States consumers, who are heavy purchasers of electronics, clothing and other Chinese imports.<br />“While some are eager to continue seeking as much engagement with China as possible, others are openly using terms<br />and invoking options they hadn’t previously considered.”<br />The United States’ chief trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, who testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, indicated<br />that the administration was specifically concerned about Chinese policies that compel American companies to share technology when they make investments in China.
